Type-writer-ribbon-operating mechanism.



PATENTED OCT. 16, 1906.

J. ALEXANDER. TYPE WRITER RIBBON OPERATING MECHANISM.

AYPLIGATIOH PILED SEPT.11, 190a. RENEWED 0OT.12,1905. I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

M T N E V m clufl/exanr/ar 8 E S S). w 7% C ,A TTOHNE Y No. 833,287. PATENTED QGT. 16, 1906.

J. ALEXANDER.

TYPE WRITER RIBBON OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION rmin $221 .11, leosfnnmwm) 0U'l.-.12,'1 905.

' 2 sums-sum 2.

A TTOHNE Y 1; UNITED STATES OFFICE. JESSE ALEXANDER; on BROOKLYN, "NEW YORK; ASSiGNOR; lBY Dinner; 9 AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF ()NE-IHALF-TOI JAMES MQDONNELL'."

HUTTON, F WORTENDYKE, NEW JEnsEY, AND-:ONE-HALF-TO L AN ER, 'KITllE ALEXANDER, JR., JESSE ALEXANDER, JR-.,;A'ND TYVE ALE AN ER.

ryps-fwalrzhsleach-demands mage/imam.

re-season- Specification o f-Lett'er i Patent. I Patented 0c'tf16, 19 6.1

/ Application filed September 11, 19013. Bess mer. 12. not. SeriaINmQB ZJOS- v To alt-whom it may concern Y stepped in recesses and rotatabiy mounted in 3e 1t lnown';thatI, Jnssn ALEXA DER; a the connecting-bar 3 at their lower-ends; citizen of the United '.States, fresiding at 5 5.,are the upper side frames of'the ma- Brooklyn, Kmgs'county; New York, have' in'- china. 6 Gare brackets-securedby screws 7 7 l l 5 vented- :oert'am new and useful Irnproye- Ito-thesesid'e frames 5'5.-' The 'lowera'rrn of 55 men-ts 1 n Type-WriterrRibbonsOperatin each bracket-isextended toward the centerof Mechanisi nyof; which the following s a ful ,the machine and they form journals orbearcleanan e zaofldescriptiom :ings fo'r the ribbon-shafts4 4. .My inven-tionrelates to linprovements in .88 are collars or enla'r'ge'd portions of the.

I --type-writers, and particularly to the mach 'ribbon-shafts 4 4,"which rest upon the lower-16o 7 amsm' for'eartying-and-operating the ribbon. arms ofthebrackets; fIhe upper ends of the 7 -The'machine is of that class known as a: ribbon-shafts 4; are s uare, as at-9, or may frontstrike whichhasa'ribbonymovablebe formed ofsome ot er suitable irreg lar from side to side as-the ty 'e-areoperated." shape,.so as to cause the spools 10-1 td r0;

: 5' I- have "shown the (rawins' and more tate'therewith. These spools; however i'are 5 fully described in-the specification improvefree to be removed from the ends .of ithe mentsdl j the' metod of'isupporting' and shafts44' as desired i mounting the ribbon-earl 'ng spools and 11 11 are centeringins, whichare carfried hafts and mechanism fb r reversing the by the 1evers12 12, w ich latter are piveted feed of the ribbon, so that it will 'automatica .to the upright arms of the brackets '6 6.. f 7o ally e woupd'first on one spool andlthenre-q 13 '13 aresuitable handles .by which thp 1e- ,wound on the othenj p vers-I2 12 may be-pivotally moved a out I I In the acoornpanyingftwo.sheets of'drawtheir supports in the 'braoketsifi 6, so "s to mgs, Figure 1 15,}; front elevation of rparts of a 'withdraw the pins 11"11.

type-writerponstruotion embodying the im-' 14. is a sprin mounted on theipivot 5' of 7 5 provernntsi-"of thi'sinvention. Fi is a the lever 12,.'w ch normally holds the'l ve'r, plan view of'the'mechanism with t e upper and conse uently the pin, ineng'agerhent part of the machine; theribbon-spools and ,withethe ri bon-spoo-llO. Obviously there theadjacentphrts removed,the spool-carry Inust'be sufficient play either about the joint ing -shaftsbemlg shown in cross-section and "15 or between. the pinllandthe recess in the 8c the type-bar plate removed-.1 Fi 3 is aside ribbori-spoolfl-O toperm'it of the pinsli ping eleva ilonofaconstruction embo yingmy in- [readily into place The spring 14 1101 s the vention'lwith one key and-type-bar, the rear parts together.

supporting member for the 'kej JeYersfbein I It Will be noted thusfar that by removing shown in cro'ss-section. Fig. 4 is a deta' the screw 7'the bracket 6 and s ool-shaft 4 8 plan view of a ribbon-carrying spool, showing may be lifted off from the machine simulta- 'the-methodof holdingitIin place. Fig.5 is a"neous1y.' This a plies equally to the other detail-plan View of part of the automatic reribbon-shafts; he section on Fi lot the versing device, showing the reversing-shaft in right-hand upper frame5 is not ta enat-the o 1 one position in full lines and in dotted lines in point throng 1 which the attaching-screw 7 go a position. intermediate between the right passes, but slightly forward thereof, so as to hand and lefthand full operative positions. show the cross s'ection of the frame 5. This,-

In the drawings, 1 1 are fragments of, the taken 'in' connection with showing the leftbottom side frames of the machine. 2 .2 are hand screw 7, would indicate that the top supporting-posts w ich are secured to these or the frame 5 is grooved to support the 5 fr tmesl 1 at either si e. bracket 6.

3'is aconnecting-bar which is -in't'his par- 16 indicates in dotted lines the ribbon tic'ular form shown connected to the support- 'whichwould be wound from one spool 10 to 4 ingspost 22. the other. The. automatic winding of the so 4 4"are ribbon-operating shafts, which are ribbons ia eifected by tho operation of the I00 key and type-bar mechanism. This consists mediate levers, as 19, which are connected to the type-bars by means of a series of links, as 20,v

21 is a key-lever pivotally carried by the rear support 22, the depression of which raises its type-bar to the printing position.

23 is a universal shaft which is pivoted to the supports 24 24 and has two rearwarclyextending arms 25 25, to which is hung the universal bar 26 This latter stands underneath the series of key-levers and is operated by the depression of any one.

27 is an upright arm carried by the universal shaft 23, which is normally pressed to ward the front of the machine by me'ans of the spring 28, having the adjusting-screw 29, operating in the support 30.

31 is a pawl which is preferably weighted and carried by an arm 32, which is pivoted to the upright arm 27 of the universal mechanism.

33 is a feedingshaft which is rotatably supported in the post 2 2 and also longitudinally movable, its range of movement being limited by the stops 34 and 34.

- 35 is a ratchet-wheel carried by the shaft and adapted to be engaged by the pawl 31.

36 36 are worn'i-wheels carriedby the shaft 33 at its ends and adapted to cooperate with the worm-gears 37 37, carried by the ribbonshafts 4 4. r y

In the position shown in Fig. 2 the lefthand gears are in engagement with one another, and the forward movement of the pawl after it is released by the operation i of the key and type-bar mechanism would cause the shaft 33 to rotate in the direction of the arrow, so as to rotate the lefthand ribhon-spool shaft 4, and thus unwind the ribbon from the right-hand spool 10.

38 isa brake in the form of a thin springlike'member which engages the under side of the ratchet 35 to prevent it from rotating backward.

When the feeding-shaft 33 is shifted from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the left, so that the left-hand stop 34 comes against the corresponding post 2, then the right-hand worm-gears will be in engagement with one another and the direction of feed will be re versed, the left and right worm-gears being oppositely threaded. This shifting of the feeding-shaft 33 may be accomplished manually; but 1 refer to provide an automatic means. This includes the double-faced yoke 39 and the spring-arm 40, which latter has a hub 41, pivoted at 42 to the connecting-bar 3. The double-faced yoke 39, as shown, has two oppositely-positioned annular faces about which the slotted end of the springarm 40 engages. When the partsarein position, as shown in Fig. 2, the ribbon is being wormgear 37, stationary. By reason of this the left hand worm 36, continuing to revolve instead of acting to rotate the gear 37, will itself move to: the" left in the manner of a screw turning in a nut. The continued operation of the machine will cause continued move- ,ment' in the same direction of the worm 36 and consequent shifting of the feeding-shaft 33 to the left. The spring-blade 40 assists the shaft 33,so as to move it completely to the left, and thus disengage the left-hand gears. The accomplishment of this assistance will be more readily understood by an inspection of Fig. 5, in which the shaft 33 is shown in full lines in the right-hand position and in dotted lines -in the central position or moved half-way across. Thus it will be seen that at the central position the spring-blade 40 is buckled up, so that the spring is put under tension. The instant that the left-hand Worm m oves the yoke 39 just beyond the central position the spring-blade 40 will-become effective in the opposite direction and jump the shaft 33 suddenly to the left and bring the right-hand worm 36 into engagement with its corresponding gear 37. The operation will then continue, the ribbon being wound upon the righ t hand spool and unwound from the left. Reversal will take place in the opposite direction when the ribbon is entirely unwound from the left-hand spool. These partsare all simple in construction and effective in operation with but little likelihood of getting out of order.

What I claim is- 1. A type-writing-ribbon-operating mechanism including a pivoted pawl member, means for operating the same, a feedingshaft, a ratchet carried by said shaft engaged by said pawl member, a pair of ribbon-operating shafts, Worm-wheels carried by said feeding-shaft at its opposite ends, gears carried by said operating-shafts, and'a pivoted spring-blade engaging said feeding-shaft said parts being arranged so that the feedingshaft may be automatically shifted from one side to the other and assisted in its movement beyond the central position by the spring-blade.

2. A type-writing-ribbon-operating mechanism including, a pair of ribbon-operating shafts, bearings therefor, irregular-shaped portions carried by said shaft, ribbon-spools having correspondingly shaped recesses adapted to be carried by said shafts, and pivoted levers engaging the tops of said spools f or holding them in position.

3. A type-Writing-ribhon-operating mechanism including, a pair of ribbon-operating shafts, bearings therefor, irregular-shaped portions carried by said shaft, ribbon-spools having correspondingly-sl1aped recesses adapted to be carried by said shafts, and spring-pressed pivoted levers engaging the tops of said spools for holding them in position.

4. A t e-writing-ribbon-operating mechanism in uding, a pair of ribbon-operating shafts, means for operating the same, ribbonspools removably carried by aying recesses in their upper ends and levers aving projections engaging in recesses in said spools for removably holding themin position. l

, 5. Mechanism of the character described including ribbon-operating shafts, bearings therefor, spools removably carried by said shafts, a pivoted lever for each of said spools, a pin carried by each of said levers and engaging in recesses in said spools for normally holding them inposition.

6. Mechanism of the character described including, a pair of ribbon-operating shafts, a bracket for each of said shafts forming bearings therefor, ribbon-spools carried by said shaft, and retaining means carried b said brackets for engaging said spools, said rackets being formed separately from the other parts of the machine.

7. Mechanism of the character described including a type-Writer frame, a bracket removably carried by said frame, a ribbon-opcrating shaft having a bearing in said bracket,

said shafts and axis and normally a ribbon-spool carried by said shaft, a lever pivoted to said bracket for holding the said spool in place on the shaft.

8. Mechanism of the character described including an L-shaped bracket having a hori-' zontal arm and an upright arm, a ribbon-operating shaft mounted in the horizontal arm and having a shoulder resting thereon, a rib bon-spool reinovably carried by said operating-shaft but rotatable therewith and hav' ing a recess in its upper end, a lever pivoted to the upright arm of said bracket and having-a pin engaging in the recess in said spool for holding it in position.

9. Mechanism of the character described including an L-shaped bracket having a horizontal arm and an upright arm, a ribbon-opcrating shaft mounted in the horizontal arm and having a shoulder resting thereon, a rib-- on-spool removably carried by said big-shaft but rotatable therewith and having a recess in its upper end, a spring-pressed lever carried by the upright arm of said bracket and having a pin engaging in the recess in said spool for holding it in position.

10. A type-writer-ribbon-carrying mechanism, comprising a vertical shaft, a ribbonspool removably carried thereby, and a spring-pressed arm pivoted on a horizontal holding the spool in place on said shaft but adapted to be disengaged therefrom to permit the removal of said spool.

- JESSE ALEXANDER.

Witnesses:

ROBT. S. ALLYN, L. VREELAND.

operat- 

